The Winter Gathering: Tower Hamlets Food Growing Network

I went to the Winter Gathering: Tower Hamlets Food Growing Network on Thursday. The venue, Southern Grove Community Centre, Yatton House in London’s Mile End was modern, light and on a freezing cold winter’s day, warm. The event was run by WEN, the Women’s Environmental Network who are the local lead organisation for Capital Growth In Tower Hamlets and coordinate the Tower Hamlets Food Growing Network.

What did I enjoy so much about it? It was a gathering of an eclectic mix that London does so well, ethnically, culturally, age diverse, hippy to business plus two extraordinary looking polish chickens that had to have a coat put over their cage because they were clucking too loudly and interrupting the speakers.

The passionate were there en masse, youthful, colourful, visionary. I came away thinking I really must start to grow vegetables, on my windowsill, in buckets, in my raised bed that I misguidedly built in a shady part of my garden. Apparently I should grow salad in it as that doesn’t like a lot of light.

Who do I want to recommend?

Mazi Mas Social Enterprise who run pop up restaurants celebrating the culinary skills of migrant and refugee women and have a genius who takes/edits their photos. www.mazimas.co.uk

Greengo Community Gardens who are opening a shop 111-121 Fairfield Road E3 where everything is going to be free. Ideally people will swop stuff or make donations. I wondered where they were getting the funding from or how they would keep going. They also offer volunteer time for putting your community garden to rights. I wondered how they were going to eat. They were thin. I was drawn in by the idealism of it. I am drawn to idealism in part. GREENGOGARDENS.WORDPRESS.COM does not tell you much.

Then there was one dancer from the Zimbabwean Association Dance Group because the others couldn’t get there because of the bus strike, but she danced anyway in a skirt made from broken umbrella material and bottle tops with one maraca and a drum and everyone clapped and cheered, soothed by free tea and coffee(donations welcome) and top quality chocolate biscuits.

Finally we heard about Food Assemblies which is an idea reaching us from France. I could start one in Luton. www.foodassembly.com

Then I went and did a workshop on ‘what to do now in the garden’ and ended up talking to the lady who ran it at lunchtime who used to be Finance Director for VSO, but also has a degree in Horticulture and volunteers for WEN. Inspiring or what?

In between being struck by the loveliness of it all I networked for Peabody, gave out my business card, thought about how we might be able to help out and generally how much this sort of event would equally inspire some of our Peabody resident garden enthusiasts. I hope we get some funding in April to move forward.